Billionaire Leon Cooperman says the coronavirus selloff is a 'healthy' correction for the market 'even though I've lost a ton of money'

Gwen Everett

February 26, 2020 2:51 PM

Leon Cooperman lost out in the coronavirus selloff but he still thinks it's a "healthy" correction for the market.

Leon Cooperman

Coronavirus will be a thing of the past by June, Cooperman said in an interview with CNBC Wednesday.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average registered its worst two-day point drop ever at the start of this week as markets sold off on coronavirus risk. Leon Cooperman says that's a good thing.

"The correction is healthy for the market," Cooperman, the billionaire investor behind Omega Advisors, said in an interview with CNBC Wednesday. "Even though I've lost a ton of money."

The selloff which, in the Dow, is staggering on a points basis because the index has ballooned in recent years -- was sparked by reports that coronavirus was spreading globally. Coronavirus was first diagnosed in Wuhan, China, and has now killed 2,760 and infected 81,000. The CDC warned yesterday that it is not a matter of if, but when and to what degree, the illnesshits the US.

Futures in the three major US indices were up slightly in early trading Wednesday, a bid to regain positive direction after sliding sharply to begin the week. The S&P 500 index closed down 3.03% and the Nasdaq down 2.77% Tuesday.

"What happens is these quantitative, algorithmic traders take over, and they create a level of volatility that destabilizes," Cooperman said.

"I tend to have an optimistic take," he said, adding that the fallout would be over by June.

A risk Cooperman doesn't see dissipating by June: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential run. Cooperman doubled down Tuesday on comments he made last week that Sanders' bid for the White House was a greater threat to markets than coronavirus.

"What he advocates is a $6 trillion deficit," Cooperman said.

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